Las Vegas shooter's father was on FBI's 10 most wanted list in 1968

The father of the Las Vegas shooting suspect was once on the FBI's most wanted list after escaping from a Texas prison.

Author:
WTLV Staff

Published:
1:56 PM EDT October 2, 2017

Benjamin Paddock, father of Stephen Paddock, who is the suspect behind Sunday night's massacre in Las Vegas, was on the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives list in 1968 after escaping from a Texas prison that same year.

Benjamin Paddock was sentenced to 20 years in the Federal Correction Facility in La Tuna, Texas, after robbing Valley National Bank in Phoenix in 1960, according to a news article from the Tuscon Daily Citizen in 1971.

Benjamin Paddock went by multiple aliases, like Perry Archer, Benjamin J. Butler, and Leo Genstein, among others. He also called himself "Big Daddy," the article reports. He worked as a garbage disposal salesman at the time of his arrest.

Two prior accusations of bank robberies surrounded Benjamin Paddock, but were dropped in court.

Police said Benjamin Paddock attempted to run over officers with his vehicle in Las Vegas when they arrested him for the Phoenix robbery.

Authorities at the time said Benjamin was a diagnosed psychopath and therefore, "extremely dangerous." The FBI also reported he had suicidal tendencies.

The Daily Citizen reported one officer in charge of the FBI Phoenix office said Benjamin Paddock was "a glib, smooth-talking man who is egotistical and arrogant."

Ten years later, Benjamin Paddock was located by police in Oregon, according to a 1978 report in the Arizona Republic. He had been living under the name Bruce Warner Erickson and operated a bingo parlor in Springfield, which he received a license to open. The investigation by authorities and the state's attorney office in the process failed to uncover Benjamin Paddock's true identity, the article reports.

The bingo parlor was opened as part of the nonprofit organization Center for Educational Reform in Eugene, Oregon.

Benjamin Paddock even received two traffic tickets while under the false identity in Oregon.

Eric Paddock, Stephen Paddock's brother, said the family was estranged from Benjamin Paddock after Eric's birth, and Benjamin Paddock is now deceased.

Sunday night's Las Vegas shooting left at least 58 people dead and injured more than 500 as alleged shooter Stephen Paddock fired down on concertgoers from a hotel room above on the Las Vegas strip.